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Why should homosexuality be a crime?

TNN | Updated: Sep 18, 2003, 1:16 IST

At a time when a large number of countries worldwide have legalised gay & lesbian rights, in India the outdated Section 377 of the IPC, framed in 1860, defines homosexuality as a crime even though an ever-increasing population of same-sex couples is a reality.People who refuse to fit every expression of their sexuality under one homogeneous umbrella to satisfy society. People who reaffirm their rejection of a singular identity. People who are beaten, harassed and jailed simply because of their sexual orientation. This is the world of gays, lesbians and bisexuals â€” sexual minorities which have given India, and the world, some of its most creative people, including Walt Whitman, Elton John, Michelangelo and Gianni Versace.Homosexuals are as normal as â€˜youâ€™ and â€˜meâ€™. Yet, just because they love â€˜their own kindâ€™, they are ostracised and hounded by the law. And branded as â€˜queersâ€™ and â€˜aberrationsâ€™ â€” precisely what they are not. â€˜â€˜Homosexuals are normal humans attracted to their own gender. Relationships are defined by comfort levels and not societal sanctions,â€™â€™ says psychiatrist Jitendra Nagpal, MD, â€œLike heterosexuality, homosexuality is an orientation which is not unnatural. The world accepts this orientation; society is changing.â€™â€™ What is not changing is the legal mindset in India.According to Section 377 of the IPC, framed in 1860, â€˜â€˜Whosoever has carnal intercourse voluntarily against the order of nature with any man, woman or animal shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years, and shall be liable to fine.â€™â€™ Ironically, while the British drafted Section 377 of the IPC, while replacing a tolerant Indian attitude towards sexuality with a highly oppressive one, this law was repealed in the UK in 1967.â€˜â€˜This outdated law violates the fundamental rights of homosexuals. Under the existing law, even consensual sex is branded as sodomy and people are booked. A petition has been filed against this law and the matter is sub-judice,â€™â€™ says Aditya Bandhopadhyaya, a lawyer fighting for the rights of sexual minorities, Counters DCP (crime) Deependra Pathak, â€˜â€˜Although this law exists, it is hardly used in the case of consenting-adult relationships except when we receive a complaint.â€™â€™Gay rights activists, however, refuse to buy the police version. â€˜â€˜Gays are beaten up and even raped under the cloak of this law,â€™â€™ says gay rights activist Shaleen Rakesh of the Naaz Foundation. Rakesh refers to a case in point. â€˜â€˜Two years ago, gays were forced into medication to â€˜cureâ€™ them. This mistreatment included shock and aversion therapy. When we petitioned the NHRC, the case was rejected in the light of Section 377.â€™â€™Medically-speaking, evidence points to homosexuality being a function of biology. A study conducted by Dean Hamer in 1994, wherein he studied 40 pairs of homosexual brothers, reports that 33 pairs shared a set of five genetic markers. Hamer concluded that genetics played â€˜â€˜some roleâ€™â€™ in a minority of gays.A recent study conducted by the UNFPA in rural India has found that male-to-male sex is not uncommon. â€˜â€˜In fact, a higher percentage of men reported male-to-male sex than sex with sex-workers. Close to 10 per cent of unmarried men and 3 per cent of married men reported sex with other men in the past 12 months,â€™â€™ says the study.Today, homosexuality is recognised across the globe, with the Netherlands being the first country to permit marriage for gay and lesbian couples. While the UK has passed legislation recognising gay relationships, 37 states across the US have blocked anti-sodomy laws. Events such as Mardi Gras in Sydney, Midsumma in Melbourne, Gay and Lesbian Pride in Johannesburg, Womenâ€™s Celebration Week in Greece, and the Gay and the Lesbian Film Festival in Lisbon express the essence of being homosexual.Yet, India remains untouched though literature drawn from Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and modern fiction testify to the presence of same-sex love in various forms. Ancient texts such as the Manu Smriti, Arthashastra, Kamasutra, Upanishads and Puranas refer to homosexuality. â€˜â€˜India, with its overt emphasis on reproduction, has made same-sex love taboo. But with society becoming permissive about homosexuals, the law must be in step with the times,â€™â€™ says sociologist Radhika Chopra.

If laws are supposed to represent socially-acceptable dos and donâ€™ts, then a new mindset is the need of the hour. Otherwise, normal human beings will continue to suffer inhuman exploitation just because nature has nourished them with the need to be different.sharma.jyoti@indiatimes.com